


Chaldea Derby

by Mister_Apology



Category: Fate/Grand Order, Fate/stay night & Related Fandoms
Genre: Comedy, F/M, Fluff, Horse Racing, hand holding
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-09
Updated: 2019-05-09
Packaged: 2020-02-28 19:00:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,544
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18762490
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mister_Apology/pseuds/Mister_Apology
Summary: It had all started, as such things often did, with an innocent question from Gudako;“I wonder which horse is the fastest?”





	Chaldea Derby

It had all started, as such things often did, with an innocent question from Gudako;

“I wonder which horse is the fastest?”

Mash set down the documents she had been reading and took a moment to stretch. The girls had spent several hours pouring over records of previous battles and attempting to formulate more efficient combat tactics for the challenges they had yet to face. It was exhausting work and Mash welcomed the opportunity to take a break. 

“Well, Senpai,” she answered with a smile, deciding to play along, “Bucephalus and Dun Stallion are certainly contenders, but I think the fastest horses I’ve ever seen are the ones that pull Achilles’ chariot. Two of them were gifts from the sea god Poseidon, you know. Although, if we’re counting mounts in general, Lobo may be even faster than them.”

Gudako smiled back and gave a slight wave of her hand in negation. 

“That wasn’t really what I had in mind.”

 

The location they had decided upon was a wide, grassy field far away from any towns or settlements. It had taken some time to prepare a suitable race track, but with most of the Servants entertained by the notion and willing to pitch in, setting up had taken less time than Gudako had thought. Convincing the competitors to actually participate hand been a greater challenge.

Red Hare was the easiest. Once he had heard Gudako’s proposal, he practically insisted on joining in. He was eager to challenge adversaries that could actually pose him a challenge. He had gotten so excited that he had pulled Gudako onto his back run around for several minutes, almost flattening several other Servants. Gudako was only able to calm him down by convincing him to save his energy for the race, and by promising him carrots afterwards. 

Chiron had been harder. He had gotten embarrassed when Mash had asked him to race, but she could tell that he wasn’t completely opposed to the idea. Deciding to pull out all the stops, she enlisted Achilles and Heracles into the persuasion effort. Even if his training could be hard, the teacher cared too deeply for his students to disappoint them. Mash hadn’t believed Heracles to be capable of making puppy dog eyes, but even so, the massive Berserker had managed it. It was equal parts endearing and frightening. 

Hardest of all was Xiang Yu. It wasn’t so much that he hated the concept, it was just that he couldn’t see the use of it, and politely declined. He may have become less robotic since he joined Chaldea, but he still had a lot to learn about simply having fun. Losing one third of their participants would be huge bummer, and Gudako was not willing to allow such a thing to happen. 

“Xiang Yu, could you come down here for a second?” she asked, gesturing for him to kneel.

“Of course,” he answered, lowering himself closer to the Master’s height. “How may of I be of assistance?” 

Gudako smiled affectionately, impressed again by his courtesy. It felt a bit manipulative to use his one weakness against him, but it couldn’t be helped. Standing on her toes, she brought her hand over his ear to whisper covertly.

“Yu Miaoyi will be watching. Don’t you want to impress her?”

Gudako couldn’t be sure, but she thought she saw a small smile tug at the corners of his mouth.

 

Once everything and everyone was ready, Gudako, Mash, Servants, and other staff surrounded the outside of the track to watch the race. Cheiron was stretching, Red Hare appeared to be doing some form of tai chi, which Gudako suspected as being closer to it’s roots as a martial art than what she saw elderly folks practicing in the early mornings. Xiang Yu, for his part, simply stood placidly and waited.

“Okay, is everyone ready?” Gudako called out as she walked up to the starting line, carrying a large checker flag. There were cheers from the crowd and nods from the racers as they got into positions. “All right! On your mark! Get set!” The three competitors tensed themselves, preparing to sprint forward with everything they had.

“GO!”

As soon as the flag dropped and Gudako leapt out of the way there was a sudden thundering of hooves as Chiron, Red Hare, and Xiang Yu rushed forward. The assembled crowd cheered them on and they pushed themselves to gallop even faster. At first they were neck and neck, but with a grin, Chiron began to gradually pull ahead, making full use of his superior agility.

At the sight of being outpaced, a fire sprang up within Red Hare. Calling upon all his reserves of strength, his mane burst into flame, and he let out a tremendous battle cry.

“Ooooooh! Horse and Man as One!” 

With a roar that was both human and equine, Red Hare activated one of his strongest skills: Thousand Mile Spring (Horse). He threw himself into the exhilaration of running at his full power and began to close the distance between himself and Chiron. The spectators cheered at this reversal of fortune, and Red Hare and Chiron flashed each other ferocious grins as they became tied.

A ways behind them, Xiang Yu continued to gallop at his maximum speed. While he was still incredibly fast, the other two were gradually widening the distance between themselves and him. Such a course of events had, of course, been within his calculations. The Greek sage and the finest steed his homeland had ever or would ever produce were his superiors in a contest such as this. Speed had been a significant factor in his design, but it could not be to the detriment of his power or durability. Xiang Yu was content with such results. Such displays contributed to Chaldea’s morale, and if he could improve the efficacy of his Master and her other allies in the difficult times ahead, he was content to participate in the spectacle. Winning or losing wouldn’t have an effect of the result.

“Lord Xiang Yu!”

Time seemed to slow down as he snapped his head towards shout. It had come from near the front of the crowd of onlookers. That is where she stood, calling out to him.

“Lord Xiang Yu! You can do it!”

Even in the spectacles and attire of the modern era, even with his new form, Yu Miaoyi’s beauty struck him to his core. The sight of her, the sound of her voice, it was all it took to whisk him away into his memories. Peaceful days spent walking and conversing together. Battles where they had fought alongside one another. Tender nights and passionate nights and quiet nights spent in each other’s arms. Millennia spent apart had changed nothing about her feelings toward him, nor had they changed his feeling for her. 

She believed in him. Letting her down was not an option.

Chiron and Red Hare had gained much ground on Xiang Yu, but the race was not yet over. A genuine smile flitted across his visage.

“Then let us settle it.”

Xiang Yu called upon all his might, drawing out every drop of power his body contained. A third set of arms and a pair of skeletal wings emerged from his back, bone like growth covered his frame, and sinister green flames began to emanate from across his body.

“My strength plucked the mountains,” he bellowed out, and began to lean forward, “my spirit covered the world!” Wind whirled around him, as if Xiang Yu was dragging a tornado behind him.

“Go for it!” Yu Miaoyi cheered, unconcerned with the looks of growing terror around her. 

“Wait, he isn’t really going to, is he?” Mash asked, standing beside her.

Many of the spectators, realizing what was about to happen, began to turn and flee. Chiron and Red Hare, realizing something was amiss, glanced behind them. To their horror, Xiang Yu was swiftly closing the gap between them.

“Lord Xiang Yu! I believe in you! You can do i-“ Yu Miaoyi began, only for Gudako’s hand to clamp over her mouth.

“Oh, no he can’t!”

“My military strength, shall be show-“

“DON’T USE YOUR NOBLE PHANTASM, YOU IDIOT!”

 

In the end, the race had been called off, and there was no clear victor. A ways away from the destroyed track, Xiang Yu had sat down. He had returned to his usual, less extreme form, and was enjoying watching the sun set in the distance. Yu Miaoyi sat with him, leaning her back against his flanks. 

“I think,” he murmured, “that I might have overdone things a little.” 

Yu Miaoyi snorted as she watched Gudako and Mash try to wrangle everyone back together in the distance. 

“You didn’t do anything wrong, my lord. Those brats need things to have things not go all their own way once in a while. If not, they’ll get overconfident. Besides,” she said, blushing faintly, “you were very cool.”

Xiang Yu reached one of his arms back towards her. Obligingly, she allowed him to take her hand in his, and they gently squeezed. 

“Was I? Well, that’s alright then,” he said as his wife snuggled in a bit closer to him. “It’s good to know that I am occasionally capable of being cool.”

**Author's Note:**

> This started as just a dumb idea I had and ended up becoming a Xiang Yu x Yu Miaoyi story near the end. I've tried not to read too much about part 2, so if they're are any canon discrepancies, please forgive me.


End file.
